Hudak, Wynne have enough to fight over

What a silly and egotistical game Kathleen Wynne and Tim Hudak are playing over the gas plant cancellations, but for Ontarians watching, it is neither funny nor edifying. The two top Ontario politicians — one who is premier, and the other the Opposition leader who could be premier — are playing a game of chicken over who said what, and who will be the first to blink. Their antics do both of them no credit.

What a silly and egotistical game Kathleen Wynne and Tim Hudak are playing over the gas plant cancellations, but for Ontarians watching, it is neither funny nor edifying. The two top Ontario politicians — one who is premier, and the other the Opposition leader who could be premier — are playing a game of chicken over who said what, and who will be the first to blink. Their antics do both of them no credit.

Wynne has slapped a libel suit on Hudak and Nepean-Carleton MPP Lisa MacLeod, the Progressive Conservative energy critic, asking for $2 million in damages. The lawsuit stems from comments both Hudak and MacLeod made after the Ontario Provincial Police revealed they were conducting a criminal investigation into the activities of Dalton McGuinty’s former chief of staff, David Livingston. Police suspect Livingston may have masterminded the destruction of computer files that may have contained information related to the cancellation of two gas plants. The deletion of the files took place during the transition period between McGuinty’s departure and Wynne’s assumption of power. Hudak and MacLeod immediately went on the attack, with the PC leader claiming that the premier “oversaw and possibly ordered the criminal destruction of documents.” The comments were also posted on the PC party website. For her part, MacLeod compared Wynne to Richard Nixon, tweeting: “Watching the news. Got to see the Kathleen Wynne ‘I am not a crook’ Richard Nixon impression during her 3rd press conference again.”

Wynne was furious and demanded a retraction and apology, warning that if the two Progressive Conservatives didn’t take back their words, which she said were untrue and damaging to her reputation, she would sue. They refused and here we are.

Everything surrounding the gas-plant fiasco, from the $1-billion cost to the destruction of documents and now a criminal investigation, is a very serious matter, and the opposition parties have done a good job holding the Liberals to account. But Hudak has created a silly sideshow with his comments that detract from his own efforts to get to the bottom of what happened. Nothing we know so far suggests in any way that Wynne ordered the “criminal destruction” of documents. The OPP do not remotely suggest that. You don’t accuse a premier of ordering a criminal act without facts. There is so much on which to take Wynne to task, but Hudak’s mistake has reduced his own effectiveness. As for MacLeod, yes political life is tough and all those who are in it must have thick skin. But is comparing a premier to a Nixonian crook fair game?

And Wynne? As premier, it really doesn’t reflect well on her to be suing the Opposition leader. Wynne believes that all she has going for her is her integrity, and being accused of orchestrating a potential criminal act is beyond the pale. She feels the PCs are out to ruin her reputation for political gain, and if she let it stand, the unproven allegation will find its way into numerous campaign ads and be taken for the truth. She is right to be outraged by the comments, but is suing the Opposition leader the right move? I think not, despite her genuine grievance. The thing is, there is no upside in this for either Wynne or Hudak. The PC leader overreached with his comments, and when Wynne complained, he should have removed them from the website, called a truce and moved on. He was wrong to stick to his guns, but Wynne is not right either in going to the other extreme. It is just unseemly to have the premier and the Opposition leader trading legal writs instead of political jabs.

This obviously is part of the political jockeying and a taste of what is to come in what promises to be a no-holds-barred election campaign. But this nonsense must stop for the good of Ontario politics. Hudak should remove the offending comments — which were still on the PC website at the time of writing — as an act of goodwill, and that should be enough to end the war. Whatever Hudak hoped to achieve, he already has. If this was red meat for the faithful, it serves no purpose now. The converted don’t need any more persuading. As for Wynne, her vigorous response to Hudak’s comments, and the generally negative reaction to them in the media, leave no doubt any longer that her point is made. I doubt there’s anyone who follows public affairs in Ontario who, by now, is unaware of the premier’s efforts to protect her reputation. On the gas-plant fiasco, people have already made up their minds. Most Ontarians know where they stand, and nothing can be gained by a long, drawn-out lawsuit.

Let Hudak purge his party website, and let Wynne drop her lawsuit. If they want to fight each other so much, there’s likely a campaign coming to let it all hang.

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